Snow skate



Jan. 12 1926. 1,569,520 J. c. MILLER ET AL v snow SKATEl Filed May' 1e.1924 /2 f/fh; /0 /5- ZO/f 22 20 /5 L? /7 24 ZX /0 /7 25* Z9 ,L Wala.

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` To all whom it may concern.'

Patented Jan. 12, 1926.

Y UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

JOHN C. MILLER ANDFOBFRT H. FAYFIELD;` OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORSro f FAYFIELD KNOLL COMPANY, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

sNow SKATE.

Application mea May 16, 1924. seriall No. 713,715.

Be it known that we, Jol-1N C. MILLER and ROBERT H. FAYFIELD, citizensof the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie andState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in SnowSkates, of which the following is a specification. y

This invention relates to snow skates or devices by means of which theusers may skate or propel themselves on snow or sleet covered surfaces.These devices are particularly adapted for use by young children and maybe used on drives or roadways where snow is packed down or on sidewalksor pavements where the snow has been partially cleaned away.

The objects of the invention are to provide a snow skate consisting offew parts which may be easily manufactured at small expense; also toprovide snow skates which will not skid or slip sideways underpropelling movements of the feet of the user; also to provide snowskates constructed to be firmly secured to the shoes of the user and notto become dislodged therefrom during use; and also to provideimprovements in snow skates in the other respects hereinafter set forthand claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a side elevation of a snow skate embodying the invention,attached to a shoe.

Fig. 2 is'a side elevation thereof removed from the shoe.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4L is a section on line %4, Fig. 5, on an enlarged scale.

Fig. 5 is an end elevation thereof with the tie or fastening deviceremoved.

According to the invention, the snow skate embodies a body portioncomprising the runner supporting portion 10 and the foot rest portionll. These portions may be constructed of any suitable material. In orderto manufacture the skate cheaply, both the runner supporting portion andthe foot rest portion may be made of wood and joined together in anysuitable or desired manner, or if desired, made in one piece. The footrest portion 11 may, if desired, be provided with a resilient mat ortread portion 12, such as a rubber mat or the like and adapted toprevent the shoe from slipping on the foot rest portion.

The body portion is preferably provided with a part adapted to engagethe toe 13 of the shoe 14, whereby the distance that the shoe may moveforwardly on the snow skate is limited, and the runner supportingportion 10 is preferably formed with a prow. This prow l5 is preferablyrounded so as to offer no impediment to movement of the skate on orthrough snow or the like, and preferably extends a distance above thefoot rest portion of the skate. As illustrated, it is preferred that therear side of the prow extend adjacent the foot rest portion, asindicatedat 16thereby providing a shoulder or stop for engaging the toe13 of the s oe.

The runner supporting portion l0 carries the runner adapted to contactwith the snow or icy surfaces on which the skate is used. As indicatedat 17, this runner may be in the form of a separate metal runner orstrip secured to the runner supporting portion l0. In order to securethe most effective surface on which to operate the snow skate and toprevent side slipping of the skates when in use, the ground engagingpart of the runner 17 is preferably arcuately-concavedv in crosssection', as shown in Fig. 5 and is preferably of suiiicient width toeffect a firm contact with relatively soft snowy surfaces. This insures,as the skate is propelled forward on a snow-covered surface, thatsufficient amount of snow will be packed, on the ground beneath therunner to permit easy sliding movements of the skate upon the surface,and at the same time the side edges 18 and 19 of the runner prevent sideslipping of the skate on the surface. This insures, in the act ofskating, as the advance foot of the operator enters upon the slidingmovement, that the skate upon which the pressure is applied in order toinitiate such movement will not give or slide back upon the surface.Further, in use upon sleet-covered or icy surfaces, where there is verylittle depth to the congealed surface, the side edge portions 18 and 19of the runner prevent side slipping or skidding. In the formillustrated, in which the separate metal runner is used, the runnersupporting portion 10 is preferably shaped on its lower side to conformto the curvature of the runner, thereby affording a rm support for allportions of the concave runner. The runner may be secured to the runnersupporting portion by suitable means, in the embodiment shown the'runner being bent back over the heel portion of the runner supportingpart, as at 20, and being secured thereto by suitable means, such, forexample, as the nail 2l. The runner preferably extends a distance uponthe front side of the prow, as indicated at 22, and may be securedthereto by any suitable means, such, for example, as the nail 23.

The snow skate may be secured to the shoe of the wearer by any suitable`tie means, but thetiemeans shown in the drawingsvis preferred.` As thetie means shown forms the subject matter of another application forLetters Patent, said means will only be briefly described herein.

As shown, the body of the skate is provided, adjacent the front thereof,with a hole 24, and at the rear end thereof with a pluralityof holes 25.A tie 26 of suitable material, preferably in a single piece, passesthrough the hole 24 and any one of the holes 25, depending upon the sizeof shoe worn with the skate, and extends upwardly in front and rear inthe form of running or adjustable loops 30 and 27 respectively,connected at opposite sides of the body by portions 28. The loop 30 isformed by making a knot 29 in the .ends 31 of the strip, which ends areadapted, when the tie of the shoe is inserted in the loop 30, to extendrearwardly, one on each side of the shoe, thence throughrthe heel loop27 and forwardly to i the instep, where the two ends are knotted andtied as at 38.

2. In a snow skate, a bodycportion com" prising a runner holding portionand a zfoot support, a prow extending upwardly at the front end of saidbody ,portion to a point above said foot support, said prow having apart adjacent said foot support providing a stop to engage the toe ofthe shoe of the user Ato limit the extent to which `the shoe may bemoved forwardly on said footsupport, and a concave runner secured tosaid runner holding portion.

3. In a snow skate, abody comprising a runner holdin-g portion and afootsupporting portion, means for engaging the toe of a,

shoe on said foot support tolimitthe extent to which the shoe may bemoved forwardly on said foot support, a concave runner se cured to saidrunner holding portion, `and means to releasably secure the body portionto the shoe of a user.

JOHN o. MILLER. ROBERT FAYFIELD.

